Sub-$100K market is changing in Manteca

Twenty-six existing homes have closed escrow in the first 12 days of 2009 in Manteca.

It took just 18 days on average to sell with the median selling price coming in at $176,450.

While the sales numbers are way too low to chart a price trend, they do adequately underscore the fact that the sub-$100,000 is changing. Banks have aggressively slashed the prices on homes that have been lingering to below $100,000 but the quick sellers are the $100,000 to $230,000 range that account for 14 of the 28 closed deals so far

Just over a third of the homes closing were $100,000 or less.

Buyers who expect to put a little work and money into homes after they buy them aren’t jumping as fast at the lower end. The reasons are obvious when you take into account factors that don’t show up on a sales listing. They are typically in less desirable locations, have the potential for more structural and cosmetic work, have abnormal features such as two bedrooms or under 900 square feet and are significantly older.

Realtors for the past two months have been saying the $120,000 to $230,000 homes — have been moving quick. There are still multiple offers but a growing glut — temporary as it may be — of rental houses is causing a slow down in investor dollars. That means the “problem” houses that are typically below $100,000 are dropping a bit more to make deals work which in turn drives down the median. But given the most recent buyer activity, the median probably is going to end up floating back to close to the $200,000 range after several months into the year. That is reflected in the pending sales where there are 184 possible deals in the works with a median price of $184,950. There are 399 listings with a median asking price of $195,000.

The lowest selling price so far for 2009 was a $54,000 deal for a three bedroom, one bathroom home with 1,372 square feet at 137 S. Willow Ave.

The most expensive so far is $322,500 for five bedrooms and three bathrooms with 3,141 square feet at 1068 Heartland Drive.

The largest home sold — 3,518 square feet at 565 Gregory Place — closed for $290,000.